M1A1 Thompson
History:
The M1A1 Thompson was a Submachine gun used by the US Army in WWII. They first started to be manufactured in 1942. The M1A1 was a simplified version of the 1928. Among many other differences a few noticeable ones are its lacking a ladder sight, slide of butt stock, cutts compensator, and finned barrel. They could be produced in half the time of the M1928, and at a much lower cost. It was mostly issued to NCO's. Thompsons were very cherished by there owners for there rapid rate of fire at 600 rpm and large .45 caliber round. The M1A1 Thompson was later replaced by the even cheap M3 Grease gun.
Airsoft Version
The CYMA Thompson airsoft replica is a very worthy to its real steel counter part. It is an electric airsoft gun featuring a full metal gearbox. It shoots at about 360FPS. It can fire on Full Auto or Semi auto. It is capable of a high rate of fire with a 9.4 volt battery. The parts that look wood are plastic and have a decent wood finish. The metal parts on the gun include the Receiver, the Magazine, the Rear sight, the barrel, and the butt plate. This gun will not break down on you and I highly recommend it as a realistic hard hitting accurate weapon. It can be purchased in the $100-$180 range.
The M1 Garand
History
The M1 Garand was developed in 1932 and came into production in 1936. The started to become wide spread around 1942. The M1 Garand was a semi automatic gas operated rifle with a rotating bolt. It fired a self ejecting cartridge of 8 rounds. It was the Armed Forces Main weapon during WWII. Patton called it "The best military implement ever devised".
Airsoft Versions
2nd Bat's AEG M1 Garand
2nd Bat's M1 Garand is a custom electric rifle. Its base rifle is a CYMA M14. It costs $560 USD. Here's what you get for $560: An Airsoft M1 Garand with a CYMA Base rifle, 3 mags, a speed loader, a cleaning rod, and an M1 Garand manual. It fires 360 fps. Its absolute maximum range is 220 ft, although your much more likely to hit your target at 170ft. The M1 Garand was the most commonly used small arms weapon used by the US in WWII and is under used in WWII airsoft. I suggest highly suggest you purchase this rifle. They can be bought from 2nd Bat on the WWIIAA forum here
2nd Bat's V2 AEG M1 Garand
The 2nd Version Garand is an electric rifle. It shares the same attributes as the first version but has an enhanced wooden stock. It is only available from 2nd bat on the WWIIAA Forums. This is the absolute best M1 Garand on the airsoft market. I highly recommend this Rifle. It costs $780.00 usdThe M1 Carbine
History:
The M1 Carbine was designed in 1938 and came into production in 1941. It was a light rifle made specifically for rear echelon troops and officers. However many front line troops managed to get a hold of them. It shot a .30 Carbine cartridge and took 15 rounds to a clip. It was gas operated with a rotating bolt firing only on semi automatic. In early 1945 the M2 Carbine was made which could fire on full auto and take a 30 round banana mag however it saw little to no action in WWII.
Airsoft Version
Marushin M1 Carbine
The Marushin M1 Carbine is a full wood and metal Bolt action gas operated Airsoft gun. It uses HFC134a only. It shoots about 320 FPS and fires 8mm BB's. The bolt needs to be cocked after each shot. The gun needs to be field stripped and screws need to be tightened after use. The rifle is hard to come by and from what I've heard a high quality gun. If you find one used or find a store that offers them I'd suggest that you buy it. When they were sold they retailed around $350.00
The Browning Automatic Rifle
History:
John Browning designed the B.A.R in 1917. It served from end of WWI to the Korean War. It was a light machine gun firing a 30 cal round at 500 to 650 rpm. Each squad in the Infantry was issued a B.A.R. It held a 20 round magazine that fed from the bottom. Three different variants of the B.A.R were made. The most commonly used one in WWII was the 1918A2. Although it was heavy and somewhat cumbersome to strip down it was a deadly weapon by its gunner.
Airsoft Version
VFC Browning Automatic Rifle
The VFC B.A.R is an impressive weapon. Its electric and is very reliable. It has a full metal gear box. It fires at 400 FPS. It is all metal with real wood furniture. Weighs about 10 pounds. It costs from $999-$2000 usd. I highly recommend this gun.
The 1903 Springfield
History:
The 1903 Springfield was a bolt action rifle adopted as a United States military service rifle on June 19 1903. It fired a .30-06 Springfield cartridge and held 5 rounds on a stripper clip. It saw some service in WWI and remained the United States main battle rifle until 1936 when it was replaced by the M1 Garand. However the M1 Garand didn’t become redily avalible to all troops until around 1942. Even though the M1 Garand become much more dominent and common in the later stages of WWII the 1903 was still seen in limited numbers.The 1903 was used solely as a sniper rifle in the Korean War and saw very small use in the Vietnam war.
Airsoft Version
M.G.W's 1903 Springfield
M.G.W's Springfield is a decent replica. It features real wood handguards and a plastic stock. Most of the parts are metal many of which are taken from real 1903 Springfields. They use JG BAR-10 Internals and shoot around 380fps. They are easily upgradable to 500fps or more. They take 30 round mags that load from the bottom. The base rifle is known to break down after a while and will need a stronger sear to fix it. A laylax sear, which I'd suggest, costs $22.00
MGW's 1903 Springfield costs $560.00 usd. They can be purchased here.
I highly recomend them.
